By Kiran Damodaran, Section Editor

It should have been a night of celebration. The French national soccer team took down the World Cup Champion, Germany, 2-0 in an international friendly match on a bright Friday night. However, when French Forward Andre Pierre Gignac slotted in the second goal of the game to ensure French victory, the crowd was silent. Unlike the players, by this time much of the crowd had already learned of the atrocities that occurred, which took the lives of many in Paris. What the fans didn’t know at this time, however, was just how close they came to being endangered by these events themselves; what they didn’t know was just how large of a risk they took when they entered the stadium – the same risk we take every time we attend a sporting event.

In recent years, terrorism has permeated every crevice of our lives and unfortunately, sports are no exception. From the taking and killing of 11 hostages at the 1972 Munich Olympics to the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, sports have always been a target of terrorism. With the recent events in Paris in mind, it is clear that sports are and will continue to be targets in these sorts of attacks.

On November 13, 2015, ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) initiated a series of coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and injured 368 more. In these attacks, one of the main targets was the Stade de France, France’s national soccer stadium, which was hosting the international friendly match between France and Germany. While thousands in the stadium watched their French national team square off against the World Cup Champion, danger lurked outside the gates. According to police reports, three suicide bombers had constructed a plan to attack the stadium. The first bomber would infiltrate the security and detonate his vest within the stadium, forcing all fans to the exits. Then, waiting at the two main exits would stand the other two bombers; capitalizing on the fear of the people as they rush towards these exits, the bombers would detonate their vests, killing likely dozens of more people. Fortunately, their plan failed. The security at the gates discovered the explosive vest on the first bomber and prevented his entry. The first bomber immediately detonated his vest after being stopped, killing himself and one other, the second bomber detonated his outside the first entrance, and the third bomber detonated his at a nearby fast food restaurant. The attacks on and near the stadium killed three and injured several more, but had the security guards not stopped the first bomber, that number would likely be significantly higher.

Since 9/11, the United States has increased its security and screening for large sporting events; they have introduced bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors, and more security members throughout venues. This increase follows a global trend that seeks to protect sports from the every-growing reach of terrorism. Why is this added protection necessary? Simply put, sporting events are the perfect target for terrorists.

When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, devastating the city and destroying hundreds of thousands of homes, many people found solace in their sports teams. When the New Orleans Saints, the local NFL team, won the Super Bowl in 2009, the culmination of emotion in the city was amazing; for many, watching their favorite football team play every Sunday provided an escape from their hardships. In this sense, sports are a beacon of hope. They exist across every culture, providing an outlet and source of happiness in the lives of many. Unfortunately, this aspect, which makes sports so powerful, also contributes to the terrorists’ desire to infiltrate sports. As Anthony Giachin ’17, a baseball player and lifelong sports fan, put it, “Sports are often a way to escape reality and in that way it’s the perfect thing for terrorists to attack because by doing so they aren’t allowing us our safe space and our reprieve; they’re attempting to destroy it.” Terrorists seek to pervade every aspect of normal life, and in this, they attempt to force us to live our lives in fear. By making sports a symbolic target, terrorists send a clear message: no corner of life will be left untouched.

Logistically, large sporting events provide an ideal situation for terrorists looking to prey on the unsuspecting masses. While the increase in security have stopped some major threats, as shown by the heroic actions of the security at the Stade de France, generally the measures are rather ineffective. As Meghna Padmanabhan ’17 commented, “So much of the security at these sporting events is ineffective or poorly done. Although it’s there, it seems like it’s there more for show than anything else.” This lack of strong security makes these stadiums and arenas easier to infiltrate than most other places with dense concentrations of people, such as airports. Additionally, these events are scheduled and one can easily gain entry by buying a ticket. In other words, sporting events provide planned, often nationally televised, mass gatherings with easy entry. While these aspects make these events attractive as a leisure activity, they also make them vulnerable to terrorist activity.

While some choose to change their lives based on this knowledge, others take the opposite approach. Nathaniel Charendoff ’17 commented, “Terrorists want us to live our lives in fear and to alter our lives because of this fear. Frankly, it’s hard not to, but I believe it’s important. I’m not going to stop going to games because there’s a possibility that the game I’m at will be the next target. We have to keep living our lives.” Regardless of whether this approach is the best way to combat terrorism, one thing is clear from the Paris attacks. Sports represent something far larger.

As legendary soccer manager Bill Shankley put it, “Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.” This oft-quoted assertion has been presented through the years in a number of ways; however, they all arrive at the same point. Sports are bigger than we realize; they are more than just games.